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Archive | July 2009

Why is it that every “W” word in my vocabulary today is one that is inherantely frustrating? Ok so the first 3 have positive uses but the last one… now don’t worry intrepid reader… this will not be a “woe is me” type entry in the blog that is Lisa’s life. Merely a momentary blip before I go over what ELSE has gone on in our rather cloudy and mildly rainy day.

So basically today was not exactly a day that “went as planned”… The weather did NOT co-operate for us to go to the homeschool park date which was quite the let down for all concerned. Even though there was not a TON of rain Trinity’s cough has me concerned enough that I don’t want to be trekking her out in unknown weather. After all this weekend is setting up to be BUSY! The boys were very upset about the cancellation and so were quite happy to act out… to the point where poor Emanuel came up with a smacked up face! I did figure out who the culprit was and had him appologize and give hugs. I am still at a bit of a loss as to how to stop the minor lying going on but I am working on it. All of this and Trinity not having a decent nap led to a cranky enough Lisa that Ken sent ME to nap! ACK!

Looks WAY Worse in Person!

Ok so now onto much better things (see I told you it would be worth the wait!)… I got a TERRIFIC surprise today in the mail, a package! One of the ladies from my online sewing group Chatty Stitchers Exchangers (a yahoo group of ladies who cross stitch – talk about a TERRIFIC group) – Sherry – sent me some cardstock she had extra and then in the midst of a cleaning binge sent me CHRISTMAS CRAFT SUPPLIES! Talk about Christmas in July! The kids are ecstatic and I already have ideas brewing! Everything from pipe cleaners to pom poms to coloured googly eyes (the boys are REALLY excited about those!). So keep an eye peeled for Christmas crafts and be ready – Christmas this year in the Reinsch-Johnson home is going to be HOMEMADE! My favourite kind!

Christmas in July!!!

So since we couldn’t do the park thing I decided to have each boy sit down with a piece of paper and his box of crayons and make a picture for Grandma Anna, her birthday was the 26th and we will see her this Saturday. Since she and Mike are riding on the Harley to the gathering I figured the pictures would fit in their storage compartment. So each boy did his rendition of Harley the puppy. I was very strict with Emanuel and made him draw HIS OWN picture without help and was quite pleased with the results. Now all I have to do is make a little coloured folder to keep them in. I also need to take some time tomorrow and get Trinity’s thumbprint on the card. I want to do up a few extra to keep for her baby book and maybe give to her god-mommies. (Another craft for a rainy day in this house has got to be thumbprint people…)

Harley By Emanuel

Harley By Gavin

Harley By Zander

Ken spent some time taking Sean to get his vehicle and when he did finally get back came bearing the much needed diapers and milk (can’t go without either in this house!) AND my tickets for the Heritage Festival! EXCITING! AND on top of that Sean took him out for brunch and sent a meal for me. Steak and potatoes… I ate the steak and the boys ate the potatoes. Mmm. See how the day is picking up?

Add to that my raspberry harvest for the day! What a bountiful harvest it was! I had to go out after my nap so only went out once instead of my customary twice a day but I think I got all the ripe ones. Ken spent at least an hour out there cutting back more of the weeds and long grass around the bushes. This is so going to simplify my battle with the bushes and maybe even give me a bit more of an advantage. Right now I have tons of scratches on my arms!

Today's Harvest

So as a reward for all his hardwork Ken pulled down our blender and took some of our strawberries, a little sugar and milk and made strawberry milk! Not my kind of beverage (unless you add some ice cream which we are not in the way of budgetting into the house right now) but all 4 of my boys thought it was delish! Supper was less of a success, I added chicken oxo to rice and well, EMANUEL LOVED it… everyone else… not so much…

Strawberry Milk

I have started the next Star Trek themed project! For my nephew and all done in *gulp* shiny braids and potentially blending filament… it will be the insignia from the Star Trek uniform and hopefully will turn out as well as Ken’s pattern makes it look. I am loving the help with design and am hoping to post the one I did for my sister in law (pattern that is) on the site to be downloaded and used very soon. The one for my cousin as well. No picture tonight but maybe tomorrow if Trinity lets me sew tonight? Her cough is keeping her up and she is rather demanding of the Mommy attention.

So for all the W’s (we are still Waiting on TWO things related to Ken – one should be resolved either way by the middle of August) today may have started out rocky but a surprise in the mail, tickets in hand and raspberries by the bowlful and I think I can handly the most difficult W of them all – Worrying – as Ken says something I am VERY good at, but you know what? Sharing my worries and talking to friends, admitting to fears and working through issues with Ken… well I am getting much better at letting go of that W and moving more into WAITING which is a little easier to deal with. After all sometimes the things we wait for are TERRIFIC right? Even SURPRISING! And who doesn’t love a surprise???

Today was a bit of an off day for me… the activities for the kids went off without any major hitch and I even finished a project (more about that later though I am sure if you have read previous entries you can guess EXACTLY which one)… but for some reason just did not feel that I accomplished enough today. I find that some days just don’t feel full enough… but looking back I know I did SOMETHING.

So the family walk which started off the Rock Critters… of course since Ken was coming with there was a bit of a problem with the boys being ready WAY before he was and thus getting antsy which led to a rather major altercation between the twins in front of the door. Something about who was standing near the door handle and the fact that Mommy said NO ONE should be standing there. So the agressor got sent to time out and the recipient who was ALSO in the wrong was sent to sit on the couch. This of course led to Emanuel coming up to tell me HE was being good (figures). Once time outs were spent and appologies said we were ready to go.

Emanuel and Trinity got the choice seats in the wagon, though Emanuel was a sweety and let each of his brothers have a turn! Ok so now such a happy thing for me who definitely noticed the difference in weight between pulling Emanuel and each of the bigger boys!

Note the Bonnet Made by Grandma Anna!

Zander is REALLY Getting too Big LOL

We took our time and did a nice long loop around the neighborhood. There was lots to see, some ratehr creative yards and doors and such. One house even had statues of bears that were adorable!

Bear Statues... the Boys Were IMPRESSED!

On the ride home we pilfered some rocks from someone’s yard (shhh), flat at least on one side and one for each boy. These were brought home to become our rock critters. Of course once we got home there was an apple and water snack at the picnic table before heading in to paint! All that walking sure does bring on the munchies and what better than apple segments (skin off for Trinity of course!)… one nice sized apple is enough for all 4 to have a decent before lunch snack!

Success! 4 Rocks! Gavin is in the red

I did things a little differently with the rock critters than when we did them way back in the winter. This time I had each boy choose ONE colour. Emanuel red, Gavin white and Zander blue. I used the lids off of baby food jars (we have tons) and gave them each a paintbrush and let them go at it! They then wanted a second colour so we just threw that on top. Luckily they were complimentary colours and if nothing else mixed with the wet paint already on nicely.

Note the Smocks (Michaels on clearance!)... Zander far left

Emanuel, Gavin and Zander's Painted

These were left to dry until after quiet/nap time. Emanuel had a bit of a problem getting to sleep. I think he was feeling a bit of whatever Trinity had… and has also gotten a rash on the inside of his legs. I am not sure if it is from his pull ups rubbing or his shorts, but potty training can be the pits!

After supper when the bugs were nice and dry each boy got to pick out googly eyes (I have 4 sizes I got at a dollar store), a little black pompom for a nose (I got those in some foam shape kit) and then a colour of construction paper I cut in to wings for them… no one wanted pipe cleaner legs though it was an option. I then had Ken use the hot glue and each boy take his turn dictating where each piece went. And there you go ROCK CRITTERS! And 3 very happy boys. Of course KEN hasn’t done his yet. I am hoping to corner him on that one tomorrow.

Each Boy Got His Say on Placement!

Gavin's Started off White!

Post Sand and Water Play = Clothes Muddy! Zander

I am debating where to put them… originally I was thinking in their Acorn Squash pots (which are getting VERY crowded!) but with the paper wings I may just have to find a fun place out of reach of Trinity to keep them in. Maybe around our paper flowers we have showing the numbers we have learned. There are 7 in the “vase” now (a wine glass) and hopefully Friday I will go over 8 with them. They already can count past that but we are working on actually WRITING the numbers properly.

On to the finish project… the evil bat has been vanquished and I am VERY happy with the results. I am not going to post the picture quite yet as it IS a Christmas present but I plan on adding the pattern to my site very soon – just need Ken to show me how to do it. I ended up outlining the bat in a silver Kreinik – very fine braid (#4) 001V. I am hoping to get Ken to use the same set up and get a design made for the one for my nephew and go from there. There is always the stocking waiting for me AND a Teresa Wentzler that has to be done for the spring as a surprise gift to another family member… I have offered to do a couple simple ones for people if they give me a saying. Easiest way to do a Christmas present ever!

We had a surprise visitor today as well! Our friend Sean who is working to become a plumber had an accident on the job and damaged his ankle. We are closest to the hospital and of coure always home so a kind gentleman who was also at the hospital drove him here. He is crashing for the night and then Ken will take him to his car which is over at his job site! Poor guy has to wait 4 days for the swelling to go down. No Heritage Festival for him! Thankfully I was home, Ken was out picking up our friend Fydo for a night of Magic the Gathering so was not even home to go get him even IF Sean had had his cell phone (which is in his car) with our number to call! ACK! And with Ken and I having our cell phones turned off to save money… we are rather incognito out of the house. It is an odd feeling and really quite worrisome. I am sure once things are… better… KEN’s will be one of our first things to deal with, myself I am going to wait. There are better things to spend money on. The main reason we got my cell in the first place was there was a couples deal going on so I could call Ken for free (still can if it was working) and I was pregnant with Trinity and he worked outside the house. So really NOT a big deal. The boys were quite concerned that Sean was NOT alright and wanted to know ALL the details… and of course Emanuel had to show him HIS booboos on his legs from his rash!

You Can See the Swelling! Thank Goodness NOT Broken!

All Wrapped Up

What else do I have to share today… well the raspberry bush is still taking no prisoners… I have lots of lovely scratches though Ken has promised tomorrow there will be some payback. Not so much against the bushes (who are really giving us quite the bountiful harvest) but the overgrown weeds and dead branches that keep attacking. I think when we have our very own house that is relatively permanent raspberry bushes are going to be my first foray into a “real” garden. They seem to be rather low maintenance and I do so love raspberries. I have already manged to fill a nice sized container in the freezer AND have enough for the kids to have some every day! BONUS! Now for the apples on the trees to be ready! Can you say APPLESAUCE?? I have even had offers of assistence YAY!

Tomorrow is the weekly homeschool park date which I am planning on going to for at least an hour. There is a lot to be done here at home with us gone for most of Saturday and Sunday for one reason or another. I also intend to get sorted enough that by Friday we can rest a little. Tomorrow is also when we plan on going to get our food tickets for the Festival. I think we are going to be a bit adventurous and get more tickets even with the added cost. After all this IS our one big thing for the month of July and potentially August! I also signed all 3 boys up for the puppetshow on the 8th since we are not able to make it to the wedding that day. The librarian sounded VERY excited about it… something about it being done by a woman who does shows for the local tv station. The boys LOVE a good puppet show.

So my day felt a little blah… the kids fought a little more than normal… and Trinity was a bit crankier than I would have liked BUT we also laughed together, created together and simply spent time together. So though I FEEL blah I KNOW I am lucky! 4 kids, one husband and friends who contact me online just to share their day… what a blessing! I was talking with my friend Ada about life and the day as a whole and went looking on Facebook for our wedding photos and came upon the ones of baby Trinity and tiny curls and all Emanuel… who would have ever thought that here I would be with the love of my life, 3 little boys AND a baby girl? So what if we don’t have our very own house yet, or all the money in the world? All the money in the world cannot give me my family… or my friends… and both are more precious! Thank you Ada for being here to remind me of that!

Well the heat wave has seemed to be at a temporary (at least) end… last night we got a nice storm that while it cooled down the area also soaked the kids’ sand (they SAY the lid was on the turtle box but I DO have my doubts). Regardless they had a sand soup and were LOVING it! Even better for the Mommy was the fact they kept said sand OUTSIDE! In fact, all 3 remained relatively clean for a large portion of the day… if you DON’T count lunch!

Ok so lunch… a great success and MY idea! Something we have NOT had here in the Reinsch-Johnson home since we were forced to tighten our financial belt and refrain from eating out or ordering in – PIZZA! And not just any pizza but HOMEMADE pizza made on a pita for a crust! Homemade by each boy… what a treat… cooking and art class all rolled into one! Our ingredients were simple as I am using what I have in the house (and the pitas we bought at H&W for like $1.75 for 7). So Ken took our can of tomatoe paste and added garlic salt and italiano seasoning and warmed it up. We grated whatever cheese we had in the house (something that has now moved up the priority list to have in the house on a consistent basis since Miss T decided she liked it!) and cut up some of the ham slices (so affordable to buy at the Wholesale place in a nice large package).

Ken was in charge of the sauce application but was CAREFULLY supervised by the boys who were VERY adament that daddy had to do his very best to get sauce EVERYWHERE…

Supervised Sauce Application

There Was CAREFUL Ham Application

And a Large Degree of Proudness For The Placement of Cheese!

Zander's Personal Pizza

Gavin and His Interpretation On Pizza :)

Yes, He Was Being a Smart A$$

Then each boy did his own… first ham of course and then cheese… and then into the oven for about 5 min at 325 F. Nice and crispie with the cheese nicely melted. Each boy had his very own pizza to spread all over his face. Tummies were full and smiles were abundant and I, myself also enjoyed the very special treat. Definitley a do over for this family!

Mmmm Delish! Zander, Gavin and Emanuel

Now our hot baby… last night Trinity woke up radiating heat. We moved her into our bed and she managed to take over over half of it pushing me down to the end and basically taking over the pillows. So Ken was sent to the livingroom to make do. Even today while her arms and legs were not too warm the rest of her was rather warm to the touch. She had a nap in her crib this afternoon and some good meals and even a little cat nap on daddy in the basement but needed some tylenol before bed. She woke up for 30 min to cry and complain but so far has been asleep. I am hoping this is just a one day sort of bug as she gets quite miserable when sick. Not to mention pushy… she doesn’t want anyone anywhere and will come right up and shove you! At least tomorrow is another basically at home day – though we plan to go for a family walk.

Apples to Settle The Tummy

I have come to the realization that there was a REAL reason why my Light Effects (DMC) were put aside… they are ANNOYING to work with.. slippery and testy and my very own new nemesis! I really hope my sister in law LOVES purple and shiny as man did I have to fight the thread. I think the biggest issue was the fact that I have not worked with this type of floss in months. I am sorely out of practice… but don’t get me wrong that does NOT mean I want to dive right in and work with it tons, but I really should do more projects with “the shiny” the result IS rather cool. I just have to decide if I want to outline the silly thing with MORE shiny (I do believe the sister in law has mentioned silver) or leave it as is… what do you all think? Then there was the saying… oh dear that stupid “T” in Batman hated me for a moment… the pattern Ken made up had a space like you would assume if you only counted the x’s BUT visually it looked wrong so out that had to come… here’s hoping the next line goes off without a hitch! I already have a friend lined up to try and design me a little shape to go at the bottom of my brother’s saying and Ken is going to work on my nephew’s design very soon… I hope!

Bat Nemesis AKA Light Effects E155.. I Thwarted You!

Hmm what a boring day in retrospect… I got a nice full bowl of raspberries and met my first goal of a decent sized container in the freezer. Ken is planning on cutting back more of the weeds so I stop getting attacked when I go to pick. Tomorrow is another cleaning day… I want to get this cross stitch done and try and get our bedroom sorted a bit better. I figure the boys can work on numbers or letters in their dry erase books as I have yet to make a “Reinsch-Johnson” poster to match the other ones on the wall of their first names. Though I think I will just teach them to spell Johnson first. I believe that could be an adventure and a half!

I do have a cute picture of the day… to cool Trinity off before Ken ran out to the store he took her out the front door for a little walk to see the grass and whatnot. I am so proud of my hubby and his love for his kids! What more can I ask for – a man who loves and cares for all of us, without feeling tied down and frustrated, who WANTS to have a family the same size as me (5 kids for those who wish to know though be warned #5 is NOT any time soon! We are young, we have time so chill everyone!), who thinks I am beautiful even when I feel shabby and believes that no sacrifice is too great for his family. While not a saint he is close enough for me! And a sarcastic ass to boot! My American Penny… though worth WAY more than that to me!